We hope that this website would expose you to things you have never heard of, things you have never seen and things you could have never imagined about Istanbul.

We love this chaotic city where the east meets the west; where civilizations only clash in the delicious recipes of Turkish chefs and most importantly where we have been lucky enough to have built our lives on a 8500 years old heritage.

We hope you enjoy Istanbulite Mag as much as we enjoy putting it together!

September 29, 2012

It's East meets West in glamorous, exotic and stylish form. Turkey’s most famous hotel has just had a £20 million facelift – and it's got to be seen to be believed. The Pera Palace, the first Western Hotel to be built in Turkey, has just completed a four-year renovation project. First opened in 1892 in the final decade of the Ottoman Empire – it’s now been restored to its former glory.

This legendary spot was an elegant hangout for famous faces of the early 20th century including King Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth II, Agatha Christie, Greta Garbo and Alfred Hitchcock. More recently Hollywood star Ben Affleck was spotted sipping drinks in the hotel's Orient bar, the same spot where Ernest Hemmingway used to knock back whiskies in a former, more glamorous age.